Apparatus and method for seamless commissioning of wireless devices

ABSTRACT

An apparatus is provided for commissioning a target device onto a wireless local area network (WLAN). The apparatus includes a smart wireless device. The smart wireless device has commissioning logic and a transducer. The commissioning logic is configured to format and direct transmission of one or more WLAN configuration packets that convey WLAN configuration data. The transducer is coupled to the commissioning logic, and is configured to transmit the one or more WLAN configuration packets over the transmission path to the target device, wherein the transducer is an existing component of the smart wireless device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the following U.S. provisionalapplications, each of which is herein incorporated by reference for allintents and purposes.

SER. FILING NO. DATE TITLE 61,622,620 Apr. 11, 2012 APPARATUS AND METHODFOR (MBPG.0101) SEAMLESS COMMISSIONING OF WIRELESS DEVICES

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to the field of electronic devicecommissioning, and more particularly to an apparatus and method forseamless commissioning of electronic devices onto wireless local areanetworks (WLANs).

2. Description of the Related Art

It is almost incredible to realize the number of electronic devices thatexist today, and even more so when one considers the exponentiallyincreasing number of those devices that are configured for wirelessnetwork integration. On the business front, laptop computers, smartphones, and tablet computers abound. On the personal front, homeautomation is crossing thresholds which have heretofore been untouched.Today's average consumer has access to the Internet via a high speedconnection and most probably has a wireless network in their home.Attached to that wireless network are home computers, digital readers,wireless printers, and some form of wireless entertainment equipment,such as streaming media players and the like.

On top of this, everyday appliances such as door locks, thermostats,garage door openers, outlets, and light switches are now beingconfigured for wireless operation. Both businesses and homes frequentlyare equipped with alarm systems that function wirelessly. The listcontinues to grow.

But as one skilled in the art will appreciate, wireless electronicdevices do not merely connect themselves to the nearest wirelessnetwork. Rather, they must be “commissioned” onto a desired network.That is, the particular devices must be provided with configuration datato enable them to join the desired wireless network so that they canfunction according to specification by utilizing the communicationproperties of the network.

Yet, at this point in time, virtually every electronic device isdifferent in the manner in which they are commissioned onto a wirelessnetwork. Some devices require a sequence of switch actuations that arecoordinated with similar actuations on a controller device. Otherdevices have rudimentary keypads whereby a user enters the configurationinformation, often in cryptic and unintelligible form. Still otherdevices have keypads and displays that allow for data entry that issomewhat more user friendly. Yet more devices utilize other coupleddevices (e.g., televisions and special remote controls) to enter networknames and passwords. And as a result, the average user of these wirelessdevices must either be very smart, or they require assistance fromsomeone who is knowledgeable.

Accordingly, what is needed is a technique for commissioning a wirelessdevice onto a wireless network that the average consumer can employwithout undue distress.

In addition, what is needed is a mechanism for commissioning wirelessdevices that utilizes common, user friendly steps and equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, among other applications, is directed to solvingthe above-noted problems and addresses other problems, disadvantages,and limitations of the prior art. The present invention provides asuperior technique for commissioning one or more electronic devices ontoan existing wireless local area network. In one embodiment an apparatusis provided for commissioning a target device onto a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN). The apparatus includes a smart wireless device. Thesmart wireless device has commissioning logic and a transducer. Thecommissioning logic is configured to format and direct transmission ofone or more WLAN configuration packets that convey WLAN configurationdata. The transducer is coupled to the commissioning logic, and isconfigured to transmit the one or more WLAN configuration packets overthe transmission path to the target device, wherein the transducer is anexisting component of the smart wireless device.

One aspect of the present invention contemplates an apparatus forwireless local area network (WLAN) device commissioning. The apparatushas a smart wireless device and a target device. The smart wirelessdevice includes first commissioning logic and a first transducer. Thefirst commissioning logic is configured to format and directtransmission of one or more WLAN configuration packets. The firsttransducer is coupled to the first commissioning logic, and isconfigured to transmit the one or more WLAN configuration packets overthe transmission path, where the first transducer is an existingcomponent of the smart wireless device. The target device includes asecond transducer, second commissioning logic, and a wireless radio. Thesecond transducer is configured to receive the one or more WLANconfiguration packets. The second commissioning logic is coupled to thesecond transducer, and is configured to decode and process the one ormore WLAN configuration packets to recover WLAN configuration data. Thewireless radio is operatively coupled to the commissioning logic, and isconfigured to employ the WLAN configuration data to enable the targetdevice to join a WLAN.

Another aspect of the present invention comprehends a method forwireless local area network (WLAN) device commissioning. The methodincludes: executing a first application on a smart wireless device toformat and direct transmission of one or more WLAN packets; via a firsttransducer of the smart wireless device, transmitting the one or moreWLAN configuration packets over a transmission path, where the firsttransducer is an existing component of the smart wireless device; via asecond transducer disposed within a target device, receiving the one ormore WLAN configuration packets; executing a second application on thetarget device to decode and process the one or more WLAN configurationpackets to recover WLAN configuration data; and via a wireless radiodisposed within the target device, employing the WLAN configuration datato enable the target device to join a WLAN.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a present day devicecommissioning technique;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting present day commissioning mechanismssuch as might be employed in the technique of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram featuring an exemplary seamless devicecommissioning technique according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a smart wireless commissioning deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a commissioned device accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram detailing features of an exemplarycommissioning device according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing details of an exemplary commissioneddevice according to the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary commissioning packetaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary and illustrative embodiments of the invention are describedbelow. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actualimplementation are described in this specification, for those skilled inthe art will appreciate that in the development of any such actualembodiment, numerous implementation specific decisions are made toachieve specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness related constraints, which vary from one implementation toanother. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having thebenefit of this disclosure. Various modifications to the preferredembodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generalprinciples defined herein may be applied to other embodiments.Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments shown and described herein, but is to be accordedthe widest scope consistent with the principles and novel featuresherein disclosed.

The present invention will now be described with reference to theattached figures. Various structures, systems, and devices areschematically depicted in the drawings for purposes of explanation onlyand so as to not obscure the present invention with details that arewell known to those skilled in the art. Nevertheless, the attacheddrawings are included to describe and explain illustrative examples ofthe present invention. The words and phrases used herein should beunderstood and interpreted to have a meaning consistent with theunderstanding of those words and phrases by those skilled in therelevant art. No special definition of a term or phrase (i.e., adefinition that is different from the ordinary and customary meaning asunderstood by those skilled in the art) is intended to be implied byconsistent usage of the term or phrase herein. To the extent that a termor phrase is intended to have a special meaning (i.e., a meaning otherthan that understood by skilled artisans) such a special definition willbe expressly set forth in the specification in a definitional mannerthat directly and unequivocally provides the special definition for theterm or phrase.

In view of the above background discussion on device commissioning andassociated techniques employed within present day systems forcommissioning a wireless device into a wireless network, a discussion ofthe limitations of these present day mechanisms will now be discussedwith reference to FIGS. 1-2. Following this, a discussion of the presentinvention will be presented with reference to FIGS. 3-8. The presentinvention overcomes limitations of present day device commissioningtechniques by providing apparatus and methods that enable devices to becommissioned into a wireless network without requiring special purposecommissioning hardware, administrative access to network equipment, thecreation of ad hoc networks, or compromises to operational security.

Turning to FIG. 1, a block diagram 100 is presented illustrating apresent day device commissioning technique. The diagram 100 depicts awireless local area network (WLAN) access point 101 that controls accessto and communications over a WLAN 104. As one skilled in the art willappreciate, the access point 101 may also be referred to as a Wi-Fiaccess point 101, a Wi-Fi router 101, a Wi-Fi gateway 101, a Wi-Fi hub101, and the like which refer to a controller 101 that allows electronicdevices 105-107 to exchange data wirelessly over a wireless network 104.Often, the network 104 utilizes protocols based on the Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards, however,such references are not intended to limit protocols of the network 104to 802.11, but rather reference is made to the well known 802.11standards in order to teach aspects of the present invention.

The WLAN access point 101 is coupled via bus 103 to the Internet in anyof number of well known ways to include digital subscriber line (DSL),cable, and wireless radio link. As such, the access point 101 enablesthe devices 105-107 to communicate with each other, and also to otherdevices (not shown) over the Internet 102.

The diagram 100 shows a printer 105 and a digital media receiver 106(e.g., APPLETV®, ROKU®, DIRECTV®) that are coupled to the access point101 via the WLAN 104. The diagram additionally shows an other device 107that is not yet coupled to the access point 101 via the WLAN 104, andwhich requires commissioning into the WLAN 104. As one skilled in theart will appreciate, the other device 107 may comprise, but is notlimited to a personal computer, a video game console, a smartphone, atablet computer, an alarm console, a streaming media player, networkattached storage, and any number of other Wi-Fi enabled appliances(e.g., outlets, lights, locks, sensors, etc.). Although reference ismade to “Wi-Fi enabled appliances,” the present inventors noted thatapplications of the present invention extend beyond commonly construed“Wi-Fi” protocols (i.e., IEEE 802.11 protocols) to comprehend anywireless protocol, as will be discussed in further detail below. Forpurposes of the present disclosure, “commissioning” is construed to meanconfiguration of the other device 107 and the system 100 as a whole suchthat the other device 107 is enabled to function properly over the WLAN104 including, if required, access to the Internet 102.

As one skilled in the art will appreciate, there are a number of varyingtechniques that may be employed to commission present day devices onto aWLAN 104. Some of these techniques require operator intervention, somerequire the use of special purpose commissioning equipment 108, and somerequire the creation of temporary (or ad hoc) wireless networks 109. Andthe present inventors have noted that as wireless device usageproliferates in the office and the home, this cornucopia ofcommissioning techniques poses challenges to those in the art, becauseeach individual technique is limited with regard to one system attributeor another. A more detailed discussion of the limitations associatedwith present day commissioning techniques will now be presented withreference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram 200 depicting present day commissioningmechanisms such as might be employed in the technique of FIG. 1. Thediagram 200 depicts a WLAN access point 201 that is coupled to theInternet 202 via a bus 203, and which controls access to a wireless LAN204. Operationally, the access point 201 functions substantially likethe access point 101 of FIG. 1. A printer 205 is coupled to the accesspoint 201 via the WLAN 204. The printer 205 has a controller 215 that iscoupled to a keyboard 216 and display 217. The diagram 200 also shows adigital media receiver 206 that is coupled to the access point 201 viathe WLAN 204. The receiver 206 is also coupled to a remote controller213 via a radio wave bus 218, and to a video display 214 (e.g., atelevision) via bus 219. The diagram 200 additionally depicts an otherdevice 207 that requires commissioning onto the WLAN 204. The otherdevice 207 includes a controller 208 that is coupled to a pushbuttonswitch 212.

The particular elements shown in FIG. 2 are well known to those in theart and are selected to illustrate limitations associated with some ofthe most prevalently employed present day commissioning techniques. Forexample, one well known commissioning technique utilizes coordinatedactivation of pushbutton switches to initiate the exchange ofconfiguration data so that, say, the other device 207 can join the WLAN204. Accordingly, a commissioning pushbutton switch 211 is shown on theaccess point 201, which functions in this scenario as a systemcontroller for the other device 207. Thus, a technician is required toperform a time synchronized actuation of the pushbutton switches 211,212 on both the access point and the other device 207 and by doing so,the access point 201 begins transmission of packets that includeconfiguration data, thus enabling the other device 207 to subsequentlyjoin the WLAN 204. Transmission of this configuration data is typicallyaccomplished utilizing the same radio transceivers (not shown) as arerequired for interoperability over the WLAN 204 itself. But the presentinventors have observed that this “pushbutton” commissioning techniqueis disadvantageous because physical and/or administrative access to theaccess point 201 is required in order to accomplish commissioning of theother device 207, and in office and other scenarios where securityconcerns are paramount, such access may not be easily obtained.

Another well known present day commissioning technique provides for thedirect entry of device configuration data utilizing integral or directlycoupled controls and displays. For instance, consider a scenario underwhich an operator may commission the printer 205 onto the WLAN 204 byperforming a series of data entry steps via the keypad 216 and display217. The operator may select from a menu of WLAN types and then theprinter 205 will monitor for available networks of that type, thusallowing the operator to select from a menu of available networks. Theoperator may then be required to enter secure access information (e.g.,passwords, etc.) to enable the printer to join the WLAN.

Or consider a more intelligent commissioning technique where, say, thedigital media receiver 206 possesses the capabilities to determine theappropriate WLAN 204 to join, and all that is needed is for the operatorto enter a personal identification number (PIN) via the remotecontroller 213 and verify configuration setup via the video display 214.

The above commissioning techniques may be categorized in general asWi-Fi protected setup techniques, and are well known to those in theart. Other techniques also include the use of near-field communicationsand the use of a direct connection such as Universal Serial Bus (USB).In more extreme cases, a device to be commissioned (e.g., the otherdevice 207), may create a temporary network and require the operator toconfigure a computing device (not shown) to join the temporary network.Then, the computing device is subsequently used to issue commands andconfiguration data to the devices, thus allowing it to join the intendedWLAN 204.

Alternatively, the device to be commissioned may be required to monitorfor specially formatted probes or beacon request messages in order todecode network configuration data therefrom. Such a scenario could beemployed utilizing the pushbutton method discussed above.

The present inventors note that, as one skilled in the art willappreciate, virtually all of the above noted commissioning techniquesrequire physical and/or administrative access to either the access point201 or to special commissioning equipment which, as is alluded to above,may not be easily obtained. It is also noted that commissioningtechniques that involve the use of PINS and/or the direct entry ofconfiguration data present the opportunity for tampering and or breechof security through the compromise of trusted data. It is furthermorenoted that the creation of near-field communications and ad hoc networksrequires dedicated equipment for such purposes. And moreover, all of thetechniques discussed above present challenges to those other than askilled technician. A typical operator may not be skilled in the entryof network configuration data or configuration of special commissioningequipment. In addition, for those techniques that temporarily open anetwork in order to commission as device, such an action is bothobservable and sniffable, thus providing a pathway for exploitation ofthe compromised parameter that allow unauthorized users and devices tojoin the network at a later time. Consequently, the wide range ofcomplex commissioning techniques are challenging those in the art todevelop more user-friendly, secure, and effective mechanisms for devicecommissioning than have heretofore been provided. More specifically,with the exponential increase in the deployment of wireless devices inthe marketplace, those in the art are motivated to provide commissioningtechniques that a typical user can perform without problems.

The present invention overcomes the above noted limitations, and others,by providing an apparatus and method for seamless device commissioningwhich, in one embodiment, leverages the ubiquitous nature and use ofso-called “smart” wireless devices in the home and office. The presentinvention will now be discussed with reference to FIGS. 3-8.

Turning to FIG. 3, a block diagram 300 is presented featuring anexemplary seamless device commissioning technique according to thepresent invention. The diagram. The diagram 300 depicts a wireless localarea network (WLAN) access point 301 that controls access to andcommunications over a WLAN 304. Like the access point 101 of FIG. 1, theaccess point 301 according to the present invention allows electronicdevices 305-307 to exchange data wirelessly over the wireless network304 once the devices 305-307 are commissioned onto the WLAN 304. In oneembodiment, the network 304 utilizes protocols based on the Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards, however,such references are not intended to limit protocols of the network 304to 802.11, but rather reference is made to the well known 802.11standards in order to teach aspects of the present invention.

The WLAN access point 301 is coupled via bus 303 to the Internet in anyof number of well known ways to include digital subscriber line (DSL),cable, and wireless radio link. As such, the access point 301 enablesthe devices 305-307 to communicate with each other, and also to otherdevices (not shown) over the Internet 302.

The diagram 300 shows a printer 305 and a digital media receiver 306(e.g., APPLETV®, ROKU®, DIRECTV®) that are coupled to the access point301 via the WLAN 304. The diagram additionally shows an other device 307that is not yet coupled to the access point 301 via the WLAN 304, andwhich requires commissioning into the WLAN 104. As one skilled in theart will appreciate, the other device 307 may comprise, but is notlimited to a personal computer, a video game console, a smartphone, atablet computer, an alarm console, a streaming media player, networkattached storage, and any number of other Wi-Fi enabled appliances(e.g., outlets, lights, locks, sensors, etc.).

Like the printer 205 of FIG. 2, the printer 305 of FIG. 3 includes acontroller 315 that is coupled to a keyboard 316 and a display 317,which are employed according to one of the present day methods describedabove to commission the printer 305 onto the WLAN 304. And like thereceiver 206 of FIG. 2, the receiver 306 of FIG. 3 is coupled to aremote controller 313 via bus 318 and a video display 314 via bus 319,which are employed according to one of the present day methods describedabove to commission the receiver 306 onto the WLAN 304.

However, in contrast to present day commissioning techniques, thetechnique according to the present invention utilizes a smart wirelessdevice 321 to commission the other device 307 according to the presentinvention onto the WLAN 304 by utilizing existing mechanisms (i.e.,transmitting elements (not shown)) on the smart wireless device 321 totransmit configuration information over a transmission path 322 to theother device 307, thus enabling the other device 307 to join the WLAN.The other device 307 is configured to include receiving elements (notshown) that correspond to the transmitting elements and transmissionpath 322, thus enabling the other device 307 to receive and process theconfiguration information. It is a feature of the present invention toemploy a smart wireless device 321 and to utilize existing elementswithin the smart wireless device 321 to transmit the configurationinformation to the other device such as an internal microcomputer,memory, a camera flash, backlit display, touchscreen or keyboard, andthe like. Advantageously then, commissioning can be affected without arequirement for special commissioning equipment or special user skills.

In one embodiment, the smart wireless device 321 comprises a smartcellular telephone such as, but not limited to, an IPHONE® or ANDROID®phone. In another embodiment, the smart wireless device 321 comprises atablet computer such as, but not limited to, an IPAD® or an ANDROID®tablet. Other embodiments of the smart wireless device 321 arecontemplated which are capable of providing the functions and mechanismsdiscussed below.

In one embodiment, the smart wireless device 321 utilizes a side band,proximity based, communication channel 322 that is established between athe smart wireless device 321 and the other device 307 to becommissioned onto the WLAN 304. The transmitting and receiving elementsperform the functions and operations as discussed above. Thetransmitting and receiving elements comprise logic, circuits, devices,or program instructions executed by a microprocessor or other processingunit, or a combination of logic, circuits, devices, or programinstructions executing on a microprocessor of other processing unit, orequivalent elements that are employed to execute the functions andoperations according to the present invention as disclosed herein. Theelements employed to accomplish these operations and functions withinthe transmitting and receiving elements may be shared with othercircuits, program instructions, etc., that are employed to perform otherfunctions and/or operations within the transmitting and receivingelements. In one embodiment, the smart device 321 constructs acommissioning message that includes WLAN configuration data. The messageis transmitted by the smart device 321 to the other device 307 via thetransmitting elements and the message is received by the other device307 via the receiving elements. In one embodiment, the WLANconfiguration data comprises the name of the WLAN, security mode, andany required security passphrase. Other embodiments contemplateadditional or different configuration data as is appropriate forcommissioning the other device 307.

In operation, the other device 307 extracts the WLAN configuration datafrom the received configuration message and employs the configurationdata in order to join the WLAN 304.

In one embodiment, the transmitting elements comprise an existing cameraflash and the receiving elements comprise an optical sensor. Anotherembodiment contemplates utilization of a display backlight thattransmits optical signals to an optical sensor. A further embodimentcomprehends the use of infrared transmission and receiving elements.Still another embodiment utilizes an acoustic speaker and microphone totransfer the configuration data via sound. Yet another embodimentutilizes BLUETOOTH® or substantially similar radio transmissions totransfer the configuration data. Further embodiments utilize near fieldcommunications (NFC) or mechanical vibration/accelerometer transmission.

Alternative embodiments of the transmitting elements may use disparateradio frequencies such as, but not limited to, 433 Megahertz (MHz), 868MHz, 900 MHz, 2.4 Gigahertz (GHz), or 5.2 GHz. These embodiments may useradio modulation techniques such as, but not limited to, frequency shiftkeying (FSK), phase shift keying (PSK), on-off keying (OOK), andquadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). These embodiments may use radiofrequency (RF) communication standards such as, but not limited to, nearfield communication (NFC), RF identification (ID), BLUETOOTH LOWENERGY®, Zigbee®, radio frequency for consumer electronics (RF4CE®),Z-Wave®, or other proprietary standards.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram is presented showing a smartwireless commissioning device 400 according to the present invention.The smart device 400 is configured to format and transmit WLANconfiguration data to a corresponding device to be commissionedaccording to the present invention by utilizing an optical transmissionpath. The smart device 400 comprises a microcomputer 401 (e.g.,microprocessor, central processing unit, processor, microcontroller, andetc.) that is coupled to commissioning logic 402. The microcomputer isalso coupled to an existing touchscreen 404, a display 405, a wirelessradio 406, and a camera flash 407. In one embodiment, the camera flash407 is employed as a transmitter to convey configuration data to thedevice to be commissioned.

Operationally, the microcontroller 401 includes processing circuits thatare employed to format and configure WLAN configuration packets whichare optically transmitted by the camera flash 407 by modulating theflash 407 on and off to transmit the packets according to any well knowncommunication protocol or via a proprietary protocol. The commissioninglogic 402 includes program instructions that direct the microcontroller401 to format and transmit the WLAN configuration packets to the deviceto be commissioned. In one embodiment, the commissioning logic 402comprises an existing memory element (e.g., random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), flashmemory) within the device 400. In this embodiment, the commissioninglogic 402 may be external to the microcontroller 401 or internal to themicrocontroller 401. An alternative embodiment comprehends stand-alonecommissioning logic 402 (e.g., circuits and/or program instructions)that operates to transmit the commissioning packets independent fromoperation of other device functions provided for by the microcontroller401.

The touchscreen 404 and display 405 are employed to initiate executionof the program instructions by the microcontroller via, in oneembodiment, launching a commissioning application on the smart wirelessdevice 400. Additionally, the display 405 may be employed to providestatus and/or commissioned device information. The WLAN configurationdata is optically transmitted by the flash 407 over an opticaltransmission patch 409 to the device to be commissioned. The wirelessradio 406 may be employed via a WLAN 408 to communicate with a WLANaccess point (not shown) or to the commissioned device followingcommissioning.

In lieu of using the camera flash 407, an alternative embodiment of thesmartphone commissioning device 400 employs a backlight function of thedisplay 405 as the transmitter portion of the transmitting element,where the backlight is modulated on and off as described above. Otherembodiments for optically transmitting the commissioning message arecontemplated such as intensity modulation (e.g., brightness) and/ormodulation of the color of the backlight.

Operationally, the remaining elements of the smart wireless device 400work according to control provided by the commissioning logic 402 (orthe commissioning logic 401 in conjunction with the microcontroller 401)to cause the camera flash 407 to transmit the commissioning packets tothe device to be commissioned, thereby allowing it to join the WLAN 408.In one embodiment, after the commissioned device has joined the WLAN408, the wireless radio 406 is employed to optionally receivecommissioning confirmation data from and/or to transmit supplementalconfiguration data to the commissioned device via the WLAN connection408.

As is appropriate for the chosen transmitting element and receivingelement, a variety of well known communication protocols, errorcorrecting codes, line coding, and/or modulation techniques may be usedto send the messages from the transmitter to the receiver in a reliablemanner according to the present invention.

Now turning to FIG. 5, a block diagram is presented illustrating acommissioned device 500 according to the present invention. Thecommissioned device 500 may be commissioned onto a WLAN by the smartwireless device 400 of FIG. 4. The commissioned device 500 comprises amicrocontroller 501 that is coupled to commissioning logic 502. Themicrocontroller 501 is also coupled to an optical sensor 503 and to awireless radio 504. In the embodiment shown, the optical sensor 503 isemployed as a transducer to receive WLAN configuration data from a thewireless smart device 400 of FIG. 4 over an optical transmission link509.

Operationally, the microcontroller 501 includes processing circuits thatare employed to decode and process WLAN configuration packets which areoptically received by the optical sensor 503 over the transmission link509. The commissioning logic 502 includes program instructions thatdirect the microcontroller 501 to decode and process the WLANconfiguration packets. In one embodiment, the commissioning logic 502comprises an existing memory element within the device 500. In thisembodiment, the commissioning logic 502 may be external to themicrocontroller 501 or internal to the microcontroller 501. Analternative embodiment comprehends stand-alone commissioning logic 502(e.g., circuits and/or program instructions) that operates to receivethe commissioning packets independent from operation of other devicefunctions provided for by the microcontroller 501.

In one embodiment, after the commissioned device has joined the WLAN508, the wireless radio 506 is employed to optionally transmitcommissioning confirmation data to and/or to receive supplementalconfiguration data from the smart wireless device and to communicatewith the access point and other devices on the WLAN connection 508 asrequired.

Referring to FIG. 6, a block diagram is presented detailing features ofan exemplary commissioning device 600 according to the presentinvention, such as the smart wireless device 400 of FIG. 4. The device600 includes WLAN configuration data 601 that is provided to a forwarderror correction (FEC) encoder 602. Encoded configuration data isgenerated by the encoder 602 and is provided to a line coding element603. One embodiment contemplates a Manchester encoder 603. The linecoding element 603 removes any direct current (DC) component from theconfiguration packets and allows transmission thereof to beself-clocking. Line coded configuration data is thus provided to amodulator 605. The modulator 605 is also coupled to a timebase 604. Themodulator 605 combines the line coded data with timebase data to enablesone or more corresponding optical messages to be serially transmitted.Modulated configuration data is thus provided by the modulator 605 to aflash 606, which transmits the WLAN configuration packets over anoptical transmission patch 609. Elements 601-605 may be implemented by acombination of elements within the microcontroller 401 and commissioninglogic 402 of FIG. 4.

Now referring to FIG. 7, a block diagram is presented showing details ofan exemplary commissioned device 700 according to the present invention,such as the commissioned device 500 of FIG. 5. The commissioned device700 includes an optical sensor 701 that is employed as a transducer toreceive WLAN configuration data packets which are transmitted over anoptical channel 709 by a commissioning device according to the presentinvention. The received bit stream is provided by the sensor 701 to ademodulator 702 that is also coupled to a timebase 703. The demodulator702 may employ accurate timebase data to sample the transmission at ahigher rate than the original timebase 604 used by the modulator 605 ofFIG. 6. The output of the demodulator 702 is then sent to clock recovery704. The clock recovery utilizes the line coding added by thetransmitter to discover the original timebase used by the modulator 605.The clock recovery 704 then discards any extra samples and removes theline coding. The output of clock recovery 704 is then sent to an FECdecoder 705 which corrects any errors found in the transmission andrecovers one or more commissioning messages. The commissioning messagesprovide the WLAN configuration data 706, which is used by the product tojoin the WLAN. Elements 702-706 may be implemented by a combination ofelements within the microcontroller 501 and commissioning logic 502 ofFIG. 5.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a block diagram is presented illustrating anexemplary commissioning packet 800 according to the present invention.The packet 800 includes a preamble field 801, a header field 802, aservice set identifier (SSID) field 803, a key field 804, and a cyclicredundancy check (CRC) field 805. Operationally, the preamble 801 may bea 16-bit stream of repeating zeros and ones that allow a receiveraccording to the present invention to asynchronously synchronize with atransmitter according to the present invention. The header 802 maycomprise two bytes, the first of which may be employed as a start framedelimiter and the second of which identifies a message type. The SSID803 identifies the wireless network service set, and the key field 804may comprise the network key. The CRC 805 is the result of a 16-bit CRCover the SSID 803 and key 804 fields using the polynomial X̂16+X̂2+X̂5+1.

Although the present invention and its objects, features, and advantageshave been described in detail, other embodiments are encompassed by theinvention as well. For example some embodiments may require that thedevice to be commissioned be placed into a commissioning mode to receivethe commissioning messages. Other embodiments may accept thecommissioning messages concurrent with other operations of thecommissioned device.

Some embodiments may transmit the WLAN configuration data in a singlecommissioning message, while other embodiments employ multiplecommissioning messages to communicate the configuration data.

Some embodiments of the present invention may transmit other informationin addition to WLAN configuration data. In one such embodiment, thecommissioning device sends its own Internet protocol (IP) address,proxy, and gateway configuration to the device to be commissioned. Oncethe device to be commissioned has successfully joined the WLAN, then thedevice proceeds to contact the commissioning device via the WLAN toindicate success and to optionally communicate additional configurationdata as is described above.

In some embodiments, the commissioned device provides a visual or audioindication to the user about the status of the commissioning process. Inone embodiment, the commissioned device may illuminate an indicator(e.g., light emitting diode (LED)) to indicate progress, success, orfailure of the commissioning. In another embodiment, the commissioneddevice may use a speaker to provide an audio indication of thecommissioning status.

One embodiment of the present invention includes a configuration modewhere the commissioned device communicates back to the smart wirelessdevice via optical or audio transmission. The smart wireless device mayobserve this communication with existing hardware, such as a built-incamera for reception of the optical transmission, or a microphone forreception of the audio transmission. This type of communication may beused to alert the smart wireless device (and operator) of success orfailure conditions.

In other embodiments, the commissioning device may be informed of theWLAN configuration data in a variety of ways. In one embodiment, it mayderive the WLAN configuration data from its own active connection to theWLAN. In another embodiment, WLAN configuration data may be entered bythe user directly into the commissioning device via the touchscreenand/or keyboard. Another embodiment contemplates automatic derivation ofthe WLAN configuration data by contact with a server or via some otherrecord of the configuration data. Combinations of the above notedembodiments are also comprehended for determination of the configurationdata by the commissioning device.

Further embodiments contemplate usage of desktop and laptop computers ascommissioning devices, where their display screens, backlights,speakers, microphones, and the like are employed for visualcommunication of commissioning messages.

Advantageously, a commissioned device according to the present does notrequire its own user interface, but rather the commissioning device'sexisting display and/or touchscreen may be utilized to inputcommissioning data and to output commissioning results.

In addition, from an operator perspective, configuration data is sentfrom the commissioning device to the product device in a single steprather than a complex series of single data entry actions.

Furthermore, since a smart wireless device is employed as acommissioning device, it already possesses the ability to automaticallydiscover WLAN configuration, thus simplifying user experience.

Portions of the present invention and corresponding detailed descriptionare presented in terms of software, or algorithms and symbolicrepresentations of operations on data bits within a computer memory.These descriptions and representations are the ones by which those ofordinary skill in the art effectively convey the substance of their workto others of ordinary skill in the art. An algorithm, as the term isused here, and as it is used generally, is conceived to be aself-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The stepsare those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form ofoptical, electrical, or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise, or as is apparent from the discussion,terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, a microprocessor, a central processingunit, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates andtransforms data represented as physical, electronic quantities withinthe computer system's registers and memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the computer system memoriesor registers or other such information storage, transmission or displaydevices.

Note also that the software implemented aspects of the invention aretypically encoded on some form of program storage medium or implementedover some type of transmission medium. The program storage medium may beelectronic (e.g., read only memory, flash read only memory, electricallyprogrammable read only memory), random access memory magnetic (e.g., afloppy disk or a hard drive) or optical (e.g., a compact disk read onlymemory, or “CD ROM”), and may be read only or random access. Similarly,the transmission medium may be metal traces, twisted wire pairs, coaxialcable, optical fiber, or some other suitable transmission medium knownto the art. The invention is not limited by these aspects of any givenimplementation.

The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, andthose skilled in the art will appreciate that they can readily use thedisclosed conception and specific embodiments as a basis for designingor modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of thepresent invention, and that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the scope of theinvention as set forth by the appended claims.

1. An apparatus for commissioning a target device onto a wireless localarea network (WLAN), comprising: a smart wireless device, comprising:commissioning logic, configured to format and direct transmission of oneor more WLAN configuration packets that convey WLAN configuration data;and a transducer, coupled to said commissioning logic, configured totransmit said one or more WLAN configuration packets over saidtransmission path to the target device, wherein said transducer is anexisting component of said smart wireless device.
 2. The apparatus asrecited in claim 1, wherein said smart wireless device comprises asmartphone.
 3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said smartwireless device comprises a tablet computer.
 4. The apparatus as recitedin claim 1, wherein said commissioning logic comprises a sequence ofprogram instructions in a application directed towards commissioning thetarget device onto the WLAN.
 5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1,wherein said transducer comprises a camera flash, and wherein saidtransmission path comprises an optical transmission path, and whereinsaid camera flash is modulated according to said commissioning logic totransmit said one or more WLAN configuration packets over said opticaltransmission path to an optical sensor on the target device.
 6. Theapparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said transducer comprises abacklit display, and wherein said transmission path comprises an opticaltransmission path, and wherein said backlit display is modulatedaccording to said commissioning logic to transmit said one or more WLANconfiguration packets over said optical transmission path to an opticalsensor on the target device.
 7. The apparatus as recited in claim 1,wherein said transducer comprises an audio speaker, and wherein saidtransmission path comprises an audio transmission path, and wherein saidaudio speaker is modulated according to said commissioning logic totransmit said one or more WLAN configuration packets over said audiotransmission path to an audio sensor on the target device.
 8. Anapparatus for wireless local area network (WLAN) device commissioning,comprising: a smart wireless device, comprising: first commissioninglogic, configured to format and direct transmission of one or more WLANconfiguration packets; and a first transducer, coupled to said firstcommissioning logic, configured to transmit said one or more WLANconfiguration packets over said transmission path, wherein said firsttransducer is an existing component of said smart wireless device; and atarget device, comprising: a second transducer, configured to receivesaid one or more WLAN configuration packets; second commissioning logic,coupled to said second transducer, configured to decode and process saidone or more WLAN configuration packets to recover WLAN configurationdata; and a wireless radio, operatively coupled to said commissioninglogic, configured to employ said WLAN configuration data to enable saidtarget device to join a WLAN.
 9. The apparatus as recited in claim 8,wherein said smart wireless device comprises a smartphone.
 10. Theapparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein said smart wireless devicecomprises a tablet computer.
 11. The apparatus as recited in claim 8,wherein said first and second commissioning logics comprise a sequenceof program instructions in one or more applications directed towardscommissioning said target device onto said WLAN.
 12. The apparatus asrecited in claim 8, wherein said first transducer comprises a cameraflash, and wherein said second transducer comprises an optical sensor,and wherein said transmission path comprises an optical transmissionpath, and wherein said camera flash is modulated according to said firstcommissioning logic to transmit said one or more WLAN configurationpackets over said optical transmission path to said optical sensor. 13.The apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein said first transducercomprises a backlit display, and wherein said second transducercomprises an optical sensor, and wherein said transmission pathcomprises an optical transmission path, and wherein said backlit displayis modulated according to said first commissioning logic to transmitsaid one or more WLAN configuration packets over said opticaltransmission path to said optical sensor.
 14. The apparatus as recitedin claim 8, wherein said first transducer comprises an audio speaker,and wherein said second transducer comprises an audio sensor, andwherein said transmission path comprises an audio transmission path, andwherein said audio speaker is modulated according to said firstcommissioning logic to transmit said one or more WLAN configurationpackets over said audio transmission path to said audio sensor.
 15. Amethod for wireless local area network (WLAN) device commissioning,comprising: executing a first application on a smart wireless device toformat and direct transmission of one or more WLAN packets; via a firsttransducer of the smart wireless device, transmitting the one or moreWLAN configuration packets over a transmission path, wherein the firsttransducer is an existing component of the smart wireless device; via asecond transducer disposed within a target device, receiving the one ormore WLAN configuration packets; executing a second application on thetarget device to decode and process the one or more WLAN configurationpackets to recover WLAN configuration data; and via a wireless radiodisposed within the target device, employing the WLAN configuration datato enable the target device to join a WLAN.
 16. The method as recited inclaim 15, wherein the smart wireless device comprises a smartphone. 17.The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the smart wireless devicecomprises a tablet computer.
 18. The method as recited in claim 15,wherein the first and second applications comprise first and secondsequences of program instructions directed towards commissioning thetarget device onto the WLAN.
 19. The method as recited in claim 15,wherein the first transducer comprises a camera flash, and wherein thesecond transducer comprises an optical sensor, and wherein thetransmission path comprises an optical transmission path, and whereinthe camera flash is modulated according to the first application totransmit the one or more WLAN configuration packets over the opticaltransmission path to the optical sensor.
 20. The method as recited inclaim 15, wherein the first transducer comprises a backlit display, andwherein the second transducer comprises an optical sensor, and whereinthe transmission path comprises an optical transmission path, andwherein the backlit display is modulated according to the firstapplication to transmit the one or more WLAN configuration packets overthe optical transmission path to the optical sensor.
 21. The method asrecited in claim 15, wherein the first transducer comprises an audiospeaker, and wherein the second transducer comprises an audio sensor,and wherein the transmission path comprises an audio transmission path,and wherein the audio speaker is modulated according to the firstapplication to transmit the one or more WLAN configuration packets overthe audio transmission path to the audio sensor.